POPGAZETA

Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came along, the enduring debate in soccer about who was the greatest player centered on two men: Pele and Diego Maradona. It was an argument that played out for years on terraces and in bars, on radio and on television. Brazil’s Pele, a prolific goal scorer who died aged 82 on Thursday in Sao Paulo, won the World Cup an unprecedented three times as a player in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and put the small town of Santos on the map before conquering the United States with the New York Cosmos. Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in 2020, guided Argentina to the World Cup in 1986 with perhaps the most influential performance ever at a major tournament and lifted Napoli to unparalleled heights in Italy and Europe. The argument about whose legacy was greater so divided the football world that when Maradona was voted the player of the 20th century in a FIFA internet poll, there was widespread outrage, with many griping that Pele’s earlier career put him at a disadvantage with younger fans. FIFA held another poll voted on by its own “football family,” won by Pele, allowing the pair …

Brazilian football legend Pele, who burst onto the world scene as a goal-scoring teenager and led his national team to an unprecedented three World Cup titles, died Thursday at the age of 82. He was hospitalized in late November, and doctors said in December he was dealing with cancer that had advanced along with kidney and cardiac problems. In September 2021, he had surgery to remove a tumor from his colon. The Albert Einstein hospital, where Pele was being treated, said in a statement that he died of multiple organ failure. “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace,” daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram. Widely considered one of the greatest football players of all time, Pele dazzled on the World Cup stage for Brazil and in club games and international tours with his team Santos before helping generate a surge of excitement around the sport in the United States with a late-career stint with the New York Cosmos. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on Oct. 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, about 250 kilometers northwest of Rio de Janeiro, Pele signed with Santos at the age of 15. By 16, he was part of …

Former world number one Novak Djokovic arrived in Australia on Tuesday almost one year after he was deported for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, tennis officials said. The nine-time Australian Open champion was initially banned from the country for three years after losing a high-stakes legal battle in January over his vaccine status.  Australia has since lifted its requirement for visitors to show proof of vaccination against Covid. The government confirmed in November that the unvaccinated Serb was no longer barred and had been granted a visa allowing him to play in the opening Grand Slam of the year, which starts next month.  Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said he hoped local fans would embrace Djokovic’s return.  “We welcome him back to Australia,” he told reporters.  “I think as we speak, he’s landing in Adelaide, and I think that he is going to be again the player to beat.  “I have a great deal of confidence in the Australian public. I have a lot of confidence that the fans will react how we hope they will react.” Tennis Australia confirmed that Djokovic had touched down. Djokovic, who has won 21 Grand Slams, has been criticized for his part …

“Avatar: The Way of Water” sailed to the top of the box office in its second weekend, bringing in what studios estimate Sunday will be a strong $56 million in North America — a sign that the sequel may stay afloat into the new year and approach the massive expectations that met its release. James Cameron’s digital extravaganza for 20th Century Studios has made $253.7 million domestically in its first 10 days of release, compared to $212.7 million in the same stretch for 2009’s first “Avatar,” which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time. While Cameron’s films like the “Avatar” original and “Titanic” tend to have serious legs at the box office, sequels tend to open big and decline quickly, complicating guesses on where the film will end up. Its second-weekend drop-off from the $134 million it made in its first was not precipitous, given the way blockbusters open. “This is James Cameron’s first $100 million opener,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore “For this movie to have opened that big and only dropped 58%, it shows it has staying power.” Globally, “The Way of Water” is already the third highest-grossing film released in …

The streets of Bethlehem are crowded for Christmas again, after two years of COVID-related restrictions. In the Church of the Nativity, the faithful celebrated Jesus’s birth as the number of Palestinian Christians continues to dwindle. Christian tourists from around the world have come to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus. While the numbers have not quite reached pre-pandemic levels, hotels and restaurants are almost full bringing an economic boost to the West Bank. Thousands filled the Church of the Nativity, on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born, for the traditional midnight mass which was broadcast around the world. Palestinian officials including President Mahmoud Abbas attended the service in Bethlehem. Latin Patriarch Pierbatista Pizzabella said that the world is no longer focusing on the Palestinians, who are still waiting for their right to live in dignity and freedom. He said that Palestinians are living through difficult challenges, but the message of Christmas is a message of peace. Christmas comes as the Palestinian population in the West Bank has dwindled to less than 1% of the total population. Hani al-Hayek is the mayor of Beit Sahour, one of the few places in the West Bank that still has a …

Maxi Jazz, the lead singer of the British electronic band Faithless, has died at the age of 65, the group announced Saturday. The musician and DJ, whose real name was Maxwell Fraser, passed away at his home in south London, according to the dance music act behind 1990s hits including Insomnia and God is a DJ. No details were given for the cause of his death. “We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died peacefully in his sleep last night,” Faithless tweeted, paying tribute to one of its legendary 1995 founding members. “He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and a message to our music,” they said. “He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible.” Faithless first emerged in the mid-1990s, earning widespread recognition and critical acclaim with their album Insomnia. They were seen as pioneers of the emerging dance music genre at the time. The group, whose other core members included Rollo and Sister Bliss, went on to release six more studio albums as well as several compilation albums during their decades-spanning collaboration. The most recent release was 2020’s All …

Back when 2022 started, Kristina Kadashevych surely could not have envisioned ending the year in the city of Richmond, in the U.S. state of Virginia, performing as the sugarplum fairy (and two other roles) in Richmond Ballet’s annual holiday extravaganza, The Nutcracker. But then, the Ukrainian ballerina never could have imagined the year would turn out the way it has. Kadashevych arrived for our interview in a second-floor studio at the Richmond Ballet dressed in a leotard, leggings and soft, puffy booties to keep her feet toasty. She started off, apologizing in advance for her English. “My English is not perfect,” she said — but it was really good — and then she told her story. Last February, on the day before she was supposed to fly to Paris to join the Kyiv City Ballet for a tour as a guest principal dancer, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Instead of boarding a plane for Paris, Kadashevych, her 2-year-old son and her parents had to flee their home in Kharkiv, in the eastern part of Ukraine; crowd onto a train; and evacuate to the presumed safer western reaches of the country. “It was dangerous,” she said, “and we were scared.” What did …

Pope Francis on Saturday led the world’s Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to “consume even their neighbors.” Francis, celebrating the 10th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was the first with a capacity crowd of about 7,000 following several years of restricted attendance because of COVID. About 4,000 more people participated outside in St. Peter’s Square on a relatively warm night. As has been the case for the past several months, a knee ailment prevented Francis from standing for long periods, delegating a cardinal to be the main celebrant at the altar of the largest church in Christendom. Sitting to the side of the altar for most of the Mass, he wove his homily around the theme of greed and consumption on various levels, asking people to look beyond the consumerism that has “packaged” the feast, rediscover its meaning, and remember those suffering from war and poverty. “Men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbors, their …

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 801st and 802nd career goals Friday against the visiting Winnipeg Jets, passing Detroit Red Wings great Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL’s all-time list. Ovechkin, 37, drew within 93 of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals. Ovechkin’s second tally Friday night came into an empty net with exactly one minute left. The goal, from above the left circle just inside the blue line, capped Washington’s 4-1 win. “It’s nice to get it done at home in front of our house, family and friends,” Ovechkin said postgame. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a tremendous feeling. We just have to keep going and we’ll see what’s going to happen.” The Capitals played a video on the stadium screen from Mark Howe, Gordie’s son and himself a Hall of Fame hockey player. Mark Howe said, “I’ve had the opportunity to watch you play so many games as a scout, and you’ve been a pleasure to watch. You’re one of very few people in this game to me to bring a wow factor. You embrace the fans. You’re everything that my mother and father would be very proud of. I know if they …

After being arrested for creating antigovernment propaganda in 2010, the Iranian director Jafar Panahi was banned from making films for 20 years. Since then, he’s made five widely acclaimed features. His latest, No Bears, opens soon in U.S. theaters while Panahi is in prison. In July, Panahi went to the Tehran prosecutor’s office to inquire about the arrest of Mohammad Rasoulof, a filmmaker detained in the government’s crackdown on protests. Panahi himself was arrested and, on a decade-old charge, sentenced to six years in jail. Panahi’s films, made in Iran without government approval, are sly feats of artistic resistance. He plays himself in meta self-portraitures that clandestinely capture the mechanics of Iranian society with a humanity both playful and devastating. Panahi made This is Not a Film in his apartment. Taxi was shot almost entirely inside a car, with a smiling Panahi playing the driver and picking up passengers along the way. In No Bears, Panahi plays a fictionalized version of himself while making a film in a rural town along the Iran-Turkey border. It’s one of the most acclaimed films of the year. The New York Times and The Associated Press named it one of the top 10 films …

Hundreds of high-profile figures from the global cinema industry called Wednesday for Iran to release actor Taraneh Alidoosti, who was jailed over her support for the country’s three-month-old protest movement.  Actors Emma Thompson, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen and directors Ken Loach and Mike Leigh were among a host of luminaries to sign an open letter demanding the star of “The Salesman” be freed.  “We demand the immediate release” of Alidoosti, “who was arrested on 17 December 2022 and has been taken into custody at Evin prison, Iran, where many other political prisoners also remain,” the letter says.  Alidoosti, 38, was arrested last Saturday, official media said, after issuing a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement, including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters.  The actor is one of the most prominent figures arrested in a crackdown by Iran’s hard-line regime that has seen the detention of lawyers, cultural figures, journalists and campaigners.  “The Iranian authorities have strategically chosen to arrest Taraneh before Christmas to ensure her international peers would be distracted,” the letter continues.  “But we are not distracted. We are outraged. Taraneh Alidoosti, like all citizens of Iran, has a right …

French authorities plan to use an AI-assisted crowd control system to monitor people during the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a draft law seen by AFP on Thursday. The system is intended to allow the security services to detect disturbances and potential problems more easily, but will not use facial recognition technology, the bill says. The technology could be particularly useful during the highly ambitious open-air opening ceremony  with Olympians sailing down the river Seine in front of a crowd of 600,000 people. French police and sports authorities faced severe criticism in May after shambolic scenes during the Champions League final in Paris when football fans were caught in a crowd crush and teargassed. The draft law, which was presented to the cabinet on Thursday, proposes other security measures including the use of full-body scanners and increases the sentences for hooliganism. Organizers and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin have both argued in favor of using so-called “intelligent” security camera software that scans images for suspect or dangerous behavior. The use of such a system during the Olympics is an “experimentation”, the draft law says, but could be applied for future public events which face terrorism-related or crowd control risks. “No biometric …

Prince’s guitar, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Jim Henson’s original handmade Kermit the Frog — these are among the 200-plus items on display at the new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Videographer: Artyom Kokhan  …

Harvey Weinstein was found guilty Monday of rape at a Los Angeles trial in another #MeToo moment of reckoning, five years after he became a magnet for the movement.  After deliberating for nine days spanning more than two weeks, the jury of eight men and four women reached the verdict at the second criminal trial of the 70-year-old onetime powerful movie mogul, who is two years into a 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York.  Weinstein was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. The jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, notably charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.   The jury reported it was unable to reach verdicts in her allegations and the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts.  Jurors were 10-2 in favor of conviction of the sexual battery of a massage therapist. They were 8-4 in favor of conviction on the rape and sexual assault counts involving Siebel Newsom.  Weinstein was also acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman.  He faces up to …

With images of snowy villages, nutcrackers, candy canes and more, Artechouse’s “Spectacular Factory: The Holiday Multiverse” brings to life the festive feelings of the season. Maxim Moskalkov visited the event. Camera: Sergey Sokolov …

An underground Catholic movement started in 2002 with the secret ‘ordination’ of seven women in Germany by official male bishops. The movement has grown to 250 women globally, despite the Catholic Church’s rules preventing women from becoming priests. VOA senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti takes us to several masses to explain the international controversy. …

U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a Hanukkah reception at the White House Monday evening. There will be a menorah lighting and the menorah, created by the Whie House carpentry shop, will become the first Jewish artifact added to the White House archives. Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish celebration also known as the Festival of Lights, began Sunday. It commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The National Menorah of the United States was lit Sunday in Washington on The Ellipse. In New York City Sunday, the world’s largest menorah was lit in Grand Army Plaza where Mayor Eric Adams reminded the crowd that New York is home to more Jews than any place else in the world, except Israel. Jewish families around the world will light their home menorahs for each of the eight days of Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah ends the day after Christmas. Even in the concentration camps during World War II, Jews found ways to observe Hanukkah. An ornate menorah carved by an inmate in the Theresienstadt camp was recovered after the war and is now in The Jewish Museum in New York. …

“Avatar: The Way of Water ” didn’t make quite as big of a splash as many assumed it would, but James Cameron’s big budget spectacle still helped breathe life into the box office this weekend. The sequel earned $134 million from North American theaters and $300.5 million internationally for a $434.5 million global debut, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It tied with “The Batman” as the fourth highest domestic debut of the year, behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($187.4 million in May), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” ($181 million in November  and “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144.2 million in July). Expectations were enormous for “Avatar 2,” which carried a reported price tag of over $350 million, the pressure of following up the highest grossing film of all time (thanks in part to various re-releases) over a decade later and the daunting task of propping up an exhibition business that’s still far from normal. Everything “Avatar” is oversized, though: the Na’vi characters, the runtime (a staggering three hours and 12 minutes), the technical advancements and the release strategy from 20th Century Studios and The Walt Disney Co. Going into the weekend many were expecting a domestic debut of …

When Igor Ponochevny drew his first political cartoon, he was living in Russia and working at a bank. Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 inspired him to draw under the pen name Alyosha Stupin. VOA Russian spoke with the artist. Anna Rice narrates the story. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian. …

Eddie Murphy will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 80th Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Wednesday. The honorary award for the comedian and actor adds to a broadcast that’s taking shape after two years of scandal and backlash tarnished the Globes. After taking the previous Globes off the air, NBC will telecast the ceremony January 10, with comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosting. On a one-year deal with NBC, the Globes are attempting to make a comeback after a Los Angeles Times investigation in early 2021 found that the press association then had no Black members and enumerated a long history of ethical indiscretions. Many stars and studios said they would boycott the show, and NBC canceled the 2022 broadcast. The films “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” led in nominations to the Globes announced Monday. “Abbott Elementary” topped TV nominees. Murphy has been nominated for a Globe six times before, winning once, for his performance in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.” His most recent nomination was for best actor in a comedy or musical for 2019’s “Dolemite is My Name.” Previous recipients of the Cecil B. DeMille Award include Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and Meryl …

Tolerance for Native American-themed sports mascots is wearing thin across the United States. New York is the latest state to ban them from public schools. Activists say conversations about the mascots — and respect and equality are long overdue. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. Cecily Hilleary and Lynn Davis contributed to this report. …

Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, began his 18 months of mandatory military service at a front-line South Korean boot camp Tuesday as fans gathered near the base to say goodbye to their star. Six other younger BTS members are to join the military in coming years one after another, meaning that the world’s biggest boy band must take a hiatus, likely for a few years. Their enlistments have prompted a fierce domestic debate over whether it’s time to revise the country’s conscription system to expand exemptions to include prominent entertainers like BTS, or not to provide such benefits to anyone. With lawmakers squabbling at Parliament and surveys showing sharply split public opinions over offering exemptions to BTS members, their management agency said in October that all members would perform their compulsory military duties. Big Hit Music said that both the company and the members of BTS “are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.” Jin, who turned 30 earlier this month, entered the boot camp at Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea, for five weeks of basic military training together with other new conscript soldiers, the …

Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, the so-called last Hawaiian princess whose lineage included the royal family that once ruled the islands and an Irish businessman who became one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, died on Sunday. She was 96. Her death was announced Monday morning at ‘Iolani Palace, America’s only royal residence where the Hawaiian monarchy dwelled but now serves mostly as a museum. The announcement came from Paula Akana, executive director of Iolani Palace, and Hailama Farden of Hale O Na Ali’i O Hawaii, a royal Hawaiian society. No cause of death was given. She held no formal title but was a living reminder of Hawaii’s monarchy and a symbol of Hawaiian national identity that endured after the kingdom was overthrown by American businessmen in 1893. “She was always called princess among Hawaiians because Hawaiians have acknowledged that lineage,” Kimo Alama Keaulana, assistant professor of Hawaiian language and studies at Honolulu Community College, said in a 2018 interview. “Hawaiians hold dear to genealogy. And so genealogically speaking, she is of high royal blood.” He called her “the last of our alii,” using the Hawaiian word for royalty: “She epitomizes what Hawaiian royalty is – in all its dignity and intelligence and …

After scandal and boycott plunged the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into disarray and knocked its annual award show off television for a year, the Golden Globes geared up Monday for its return by showering nominations on “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Everything Everywhere all at Once.” The nominations were read by father-daughter duo George and Mayan Lopez on NBC’s “Today” morning show. The nominees for best film, drama, are: “The Fabelmans,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Elvis,” “Tar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.” The nominees for best film, comedy or musical, are: “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” “Babylon” and “Triangle of Sadness.” Martin McDonagh’s feuding friends tale “The Banshees of Inisherin” led all films with eight nominations. The madcap metaverse film “Everything Everywhere all at Once” came in second with six nominations. Among the nominees for best actor in a drama is Brendan Fraser. Fraser has said he won’t attend the Globes after he said he was groped in 2003 by Philip Berk, a longtime HFPA member and former president of the organization. The Globes will be telecast January 10, with stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosting. The Globes are trying to …